Hibernian 1

Motherwell 0

IN Tony Adams' excellent autobiography, the former England and Arsenal captain writes that when he was a young player simply being in the presence of Terry Butcher was an inspiration to him.

In the international dressing room Butcher was a man who shouted at his team-mates, poked them in the chest, talked up the pride they should have in their performance and urged them to get fired up for the challenge ahead. It was an attitude that Adams adopted and retained with England long after Butcher had hung up his boots.

With Adams spelling out how passionate the man who is now Motherwell manager is about his football, it wasn't surprising to see him so crestfallen after the sterile display put on by his team at Easter Road on Saturday which had him kicking doors once again.

Television viewers saw him storming into shot after an Old Firm game many years back when a door took a bit of a pasting and a referee's door at Pittodrie has also been on the receiving end of Butcher's powerful boot.

On Saturday evening it was the innocent portal to the away dressing room at Easter Road which got a good kicking.

It has to be said though he had every reason to vent his frustration. Here you had a former England captain, a man who was a mainstay of Ipswich under Bobby Robson, and Rangers under Graeme Souness, having to deal at the bottom end of the Premierleague with a team which played with no passion.

You got the impression that even in his advancing years Butcher could have pulled on a shirt on Saturday and shown more desire than some of his team. Certainly it was hard to believe that this was a match vital for the future of Motherwell football club.

Forget that Falkirk probably won't be allowed promotion to the Premierleague. The players at Fir Park, who quite rightly are worried about their own future, cannot rely on such a twist of fate to secure their place in the top flight.

Also, let's not forget that if the Brockville side are not allowed to make the step up that means Motherwell, a club with no money and a lack of decent players, will remain in the Premierleague, and it's more than likely they will be near the bottom of the table this time next year as well.

With that in mind the more cynical among us may suggest that some SPL chairmen will vote against Falkirk as they realise they will be a bigger threat than an under-financed Motherwell squad next season.

Butcher will have to perform miracles or win the lottery to turn things around in the long-term at Fir Park. His display afterwards was more entertaining and purposeful than his team's, with the mercurial James McFadden, who has now been linked with Blackburn Rovers, the only one of his posse who could be exempt from criticism.

Certainly Butcher wasn't for taking any prisoners when he entered his after-match press conference and he couldn't help himself even after he spent a few minutes staring at the floor, taking time out to try and keep his temper in check.

''I have questioned my team's commitment and I have questioned their attitude and effort,'' he said. ''They did not look like a team fighting for their life. That disappointed me and angered me. In the end we lost a tame, insipid game. It was crap. We lost a crap game.''

He was certainly right on that score. As a match it never got going and it wasn't surprising the only goal came from the penalty spot. David Partridge made a hash of a clearance which fell to Ian Murray on the left side of the penalty box. The Motherwell defender tried to atone for his error but only managed to foul the Hibs midfielder, who was going nowhere fast at the time, to give away a pointless penalty. One of the few pieces of composure on the day came from penalty-taker Grant Brebner, who put the ball away with the greatest of ease.

Granted, Hibs came close on a few other occasions, the most notable being when young Derek Riordan hit a post, but overall they created little despite having the bulk of possession. Compare that to Motherwell, who had a match winner in McFadden but whose frustration on the pitch was matched by his manager's in the dugout.

There is only so much one player can do and although the youngster can beat one or two opponents in a row, without team-mates on his wavelength he will inevitably be left to look like a show pony on such occasions. Hard as it will be for Motherwell supporters to accept, it's clear that McFadden will have to leave Fir Park sooner rather than later in order to keep his promising career on track and to play alongside better players.

Motherwell are full of honest professionals and not surprisingly Dirk Lehmann was a bit surprised afterwards when told that Butcher had criticised the players' commitment to the cause. The German also claimed that allowing Falkirk into the SPL was a legal minefield and that a decision to veto them coming up would be the right one. However, as Christine Keeler said in the witness box about John Profumo, ''he would say that wouldn't he''.

Substitutions

Hibernian Wiss (Jack 82), Reid (Brown 89) Motherwell Clarkson (Lasley 72), Craig (Vaughan 86)

Subs not used

Hibernian Colgan, Townsley, Nicol Motherwell Woods, McDonald, Kinniburgh

REFEREE Willie Young

bookED

Hibernian Fenwick 53, Jack 57, Brebner 90 Motherwell Ramsay 19, Lehmann 28

Attendance 7089